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Re: house finch observation



That's interesting because the House Finch I reported, early, in the Spring
had these same head feathers.  So maybe I did see a fledgling that early?

Dennis

----- Original Message -----
From: "BILL HILTON JR Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History"
<hilton@hiltonpond.org>
To: "shannon douglas" <monkeyself@email.msn.com>; "CAROLINA BIRDS"
<carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: house finch observation


| >Hi,
| >
| >I have lots of house finches at my feeders and I have noticed something
| >interesting.  It does not seem to be consistent with every bird, but
| >frequently enough to be more than an isolated incident.  Some of the
birds
| >that are either juveniles or females, but I think they are juveniles,
| >sometimes have two feathers sticking up on their heads - they look like
| >feather cowlicks but they are placed on the head as if they were horns.
| >It's very strange.  I have seen it occasionally on birds over 3 summers
in 2
| >different locations (so I doubt that it's just one wierd bird that I'm
| >seeing).  I have no idea what the purpose of it could be or if there is
some
| >behavior that might cause it inadvertently (like the pollen on the
| >hummingbird).  Has anybody else seen this?
| >
| >Shannon Douglas
| >columbia, sc
| >monkeyself@email.msn.com
| >
| >PS the nuthatches at my feeder are brown headed.  Thanks for all the
| >responses to backyard birds post.
|
| ******
|
|
| SHANNON . . .
|
| It's fairly common among songbirds--and some other bird groups--for
| young birds to have additional head feathers such as those you
| describe. This natal down disappears quickly. There have been various
| hypotheses about the function, but one explanation is that it helps
| adult birds recognize the youngsters as youngsters.
|
| The anthropomorphic explanation is that it makes the young look "cuter."
|
| Cheers,
|
| BILL
|
| ********
| --
|
| BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
| Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
| 1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA
| hilton@hiltonpond.org, (803) 684-5852, eFax: (503) 218-0845
|
| Please visit our web sites at http://www.hiltonpond.org and
| http://www.rubythroat.org
|
| "Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
| watch the sunset." BHjr.
|